Hello, everybody! Please, have a seat.
Kumusta kayo. It is great to be here at Fort Bonifacio. Vice President
Binay, distinguished guests: It’s an honor to be here with our
outstanding allies -- the leaders and members of the armed forces of the
Philippines. And we’re joined by men and women who stand tall and proud
to wear the uniform of the United States of America. And let me also
welcome all our Filipino friends.

Now, I’m not going to give a long speech,
because it’s hot and people are in uniform. I hope you don’t mind me
not wearing my jacket. And I also want to make sure that I have some
time to shake some hands.

But I’m here in the Philippines to
reaffirm the enduring alliance between our two countries. I thank
President Aquino for his partnership and the deeper ties that we forged
yesterday. I’m especially proud to be here as we remember one of the
defining moments of our shared history -- the 70th anniversary of the
battle of Leyte during World War II and the beginning of the liberation
of the Philippines.

Right after this, I’ll pay my
respects at the American cemetery here in Manila -- the final resting
place of so many Americans and Filipinos who made the ultimate sacrifice
for the freedom of this country in that war. These Americans and
Filipinos rest in peace as they stood in war -- side-by-side,
shoulder-to-shoulder -- balikatan.

Together, Filipinos and Americans put up a
heroic defense, at Bataan and Corregidor. Together, they endured the
agony of the death marches and the horror of the prisoner of war camps.
Many never made it out. In those years of occupation, Filipino
resistance fighters kept up the struggle. And hundreds of thousands of
Filipinos fought under the American flag.

And sadly, the proud service of many of
these Filipino veterans was never fully recognized by the United
States. Many were denied the compensation they had been promised. It
was an injustice. So in recent years, my administration, working with
Congress and others, have worked to right this wrong. We passed a law,
reviewed the records, processed claims, and nearly 20,000 Filipino
veterans from World War II and their families finally received the
compensation they had earned. And it was the right thing to do.

What’s been written about Bataan could be
said of their entire generation: “The loss of life was grievous, and
hardly a Filipino family was untouched by the tragedy. But the heroic
struggle brought out the best in the Filipino character in the face of
adversity and served as a beacon to freedom loving peoples everywhere.”

We are truly honored to have some of these
extraordinary veterans here with us today. Among them are men who
fought at Bataan and Corregidor, and a survivor of those hellish
prisoner of war camps. Some fought in the resistance, including nurse
Carolina Garcia Delfin. These veterans are now in their nineties. They
are an inspiration to us all, and I’d ask those who can stand to stand
or give a wave so that we can all salute their service.

The spirit of these veterans -- their
strength, their solidarity -- I see it in you as well when you train and
exercise together to stay ready for the future, when our special forces
-- some of you here today -- advise and assist our Filipino partners in
their fight against terrorism, and when you respond to crises together,
as you did after Yolanda. Along with your civilian partners, you rushed
into the disaster zone, pulled people from the rubble, delivered food
and medicine. You showed what friends can do when we take care of each
other.

These are the kinds of missions we face
today. Yesterday, President Aquino and I agreed to begin a new chapter
in our alliance. And under our new agreement, American forces can begin
rotating through Filipino airfields and ports. We’ll train and exercise
together more to bring our militaries even closer, and to support your
efforts to strengthen your armed forces. We’ll improve our ability to
respond even faster to disasters like Yolanda. Today, I thank the
people of the Philippines for welcoming our servicemembers as your
friends and partners.

Deepening our alliance is part of our
broader vision for the Asia Pacific. We believe that nations and
peoples have the right to live in security and peace, and to have their
sovereignty and territorial integrity respected. We believe that
international law must be upheld, that freedom of navigation must be
preserved and commerce must not be impeded. We believe that disputes
must be resolved peacefully and not by intimidation or force. That’s
what our nations stand for. That’s the future we’re working for. And
that’s why your service is so important.

Let me be absolutely clear. For more than
60 years, the United States and the Philippines have been bound by a
mutual defense treaty. And this treaty means our two nations pledge --
and I’m quoting -- our “common determination to defend themselves
against external armed attacks, so that no potential aggressor could be
under the illusion that either of them stands alone.” In other words,
our commitment to defend the Philippines is ironclad and the United
States will keep that commitment, because allies never stand alone.

In closing, I want to leave you with an
incredible story that captures the strength of our alliance. We all
know about the massive international response after Yolanda. What few
people realize is that it started all with a single aircraft carrying a
handful of Filipino and American troops and civilians. The storm hit
land that Friday.

The very next morning, the first aircraft
took off -- a Philippine C-130 carrying
Captain Roy Trinidad, a Philippine Navy
SEAL; Colonel Mike Wylie, United States Marines; and Major George
Apalisok, U.S. Air Force.

Just hours after the storm passed,
with Tacloban devastated, they landed at the airport. And the next day,
they were joined by others, including Army Major Leo Liebreich. In the
days that followed, they worked together -- Filipinos and Americans --
setting up a medical station, clearing debris from the runway, reopening
that airport. Filipino soldiers unloading aid from American cargo
aircraft; American troops loading supplies onto Filipino helicopters.
And when all the cargo was off those aircraft, our troops worked
together to help local residents aboard so that they could be evacuated
to safety. And over and over, those grateful Filipinos responded with a
simple word -- salamat.

There, in the ruin, men like these worked
around the clock, day after day. And at night they’d sleep on boards
for cots, in a damaged building with only half a roof. “It rained on
some nights, and we got a little wet,” said George, “but nobody
complained.” “We’ve been training together for many years,” he said --
“we worked as a team.” And because of individuals like these, thousands
were evacuated to safety, and what started with a few men on that first
day became a global relief effort that saved countless lives. Roy, the
Philippine Navy SEAL -- George, Mike, Leo -- they are here today.
George also happens to be a proud Filipino-American. I want them to
stand again and accept our thanks. We are proud of their outstanding
service.

There’s a connection between our proud
veterans from World War II and our men and women serving today -- bound
across the generations by the spirit of our alliance, Filipinos and
Americans standing together, shoulder-to-shoulder, balikatan. On behalf
of the American people, thank you all for your service. Thank you for
making us so proud. To the Americans here, I am never prouder than
being able to stand before you as your Commander-in-Chief. To our
Filipino armed forces -- thank you for being such an outstanding ally.
Together, you are helping to secure the prosperity and peace of both our
nations.